http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/11/24/fea04.

htm The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, created in 1998, collate and formulate existing international human rights and humanitarian law, both, which are germane to the rights of affected persons. Recognising the vulnerabilities of persons internally displaced they resorted to a broad definition of internally displaced persons' as persons forced or obliged to flee or leave their homes or places of habitual residence' for reasons which include, besides conflict and civil strife, "natural disaster.' One of the most common consequences of natural disasters is internal displacement of the affected population. An important issue in post disaster management is thus the provision and ensuring the rights guaranteed under the international covenants. http://unu.edu/publications/articles/health-and-human-security-in-emergencies.html The right to health in international legal instruments Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) affirmed that: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. The Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO), meanwhile, provides that: [T]he enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition. Article 12(1) of the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) recognizes the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health Accountability for the right to health in emergencies every international normative instrument that provides for the right to health stresses the need for international assistance and cooperation. However, even though [e]ach State has the responsibility first and foremost to take care of the victims of natural disasters and other emergencies occurring on its territory, what happens if that State cannot or does not take care of its own population? Here, the

international community has to grapple with the tension between State/territorial sovereignty and humanitarian intervention. The role of the international community The question whether one State owes an obligation to promote the right to health of populations in another State, albeit complex in the context of state sovereignty, seems to find support in Article 2 of the ICESR, which contemplates that States do have obligations to those in other countries. Currently, as pointed out by Hardcastle and Chua, there exists no multilateral treaty like the Geneva Conventions (applicable in times of armed conflict) that provides for the right of victims of national disasters to receive humanitarian assistance. Because of the lack of a political space to operationalize the responsibilities of States during disasters, it becomes extremely difficult to determine the scope of such responsibilities. In order to deal with such problematic issues, and give meaning to the language of the ICESCR, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) clarified that under articles 12(1) and 2(1), States do have an international legal obligation to be active in respect of the right to health (and its violations), and where resources are available, they should facilitate access to essential health facilities, goods and services in other countries, wherever possible and provide the necessary aid when required. in order to comply with its core obligations under the ICESCR, a State must demonstrate not only that it is using the maximum of its own available resources, but that it has attempted to use the maximum of the international communitys available resources. In a recent exhaustive and insightful study, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies comprehensively articulated the law and legal issues in international disaster response. DILG-Resources-2012116-420ac59e31.pdf Provide life preservation and meet the basic subsistence needs of affected population based on acceptable standards during or immediately after a disaster---what standards?

---Natural_Disaster_Manual.pdf Although a lack of resources may prevent states from fully realizing certain human rights, they are still required to guarantee the rights that are essential to survival such as food, water, shelter, sanitation and access to medical assistance; and where this is not possible, they are required to request international assistance.4 Right to legal personality--- particularly relevant in natural disaster situations because minors may have inherited assets or property, or need to appear before the courts to confirm a

guardianship application Are victims of natural disasters entitled to a remedy for damage to their homes and properties? Victims of natural disasters are unlikely to be entitled to a remedy for their losses under national laws. The most common sources of compensation or reparation are personal insurance policies or humanitarian aid programs. Losses incurred through looting, however, are likely to be handled by the formal justice system. One complication, as was found in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in 2005, is that looting is often wide- spread and occurs at a time when law enforcement is compromised or non-operational. In such cases, a major stumbling block can be lack of evidence and the absence of a properly documented case. . Protection against Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment The IICPR27 and UDHR28 protect all people against torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. It should be noted that the ICCPR does not permit any derogation from this provision in times of public emergency. This right is particularly relevant in situations of natural disaster where law and order and the capacity of police services may be compromised. Particular dangers include police detention and other correctional facilities that may be ill-equipped, understaffed and under pressure to cope with increased caseloads.29 It is also important to ensure that emergency housing facilities, particularly where restrictions on movement are in place, have adequate protection measures for vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied women and children, older people, and persons with disabilities and minorities, who are more susceptible to exploitation and abuse. . Ensuring parity in aid distribution becomes more difficult when there is a multitude of humani- tarian actors delivering a single product, for example houses, in different communities. In the Aceh Province of Indonesia, this was partly resolved by the government setting minimum standards for housing reconstruction, which all agencies were required to follow. Humanitarian action should be based on assessed need and provided to all persons affected by the natural disaster without adverse distinction of any kind other than that of different needs. IASC principle B.1.2 right to religious freedom be relevant in natural disaster situations? In the context of natural disasters, the IASC guidelines provide that ...religious traditions should be respected, as appropriate, when planning and implementing humanitarian assistance, in particular in the context of food assistance, health care services, and living and sanitary arrangements (D.4.2). Examples include ensuring that ration packs and emergency food supplies are consistent with religious obligations particularly in the case of Muslim, Hindu and Jewish populations and that living quarters provide minimum standards of privacy; in most situations, unrelated men and women should be segregated ensuring that emergency shelters, resettlement areas and workplaces have suitable prayer facilities and that working hours, training and community meetings respect prayer times and religious holidays.

. . . .

3.1 The Right to Adequate Living Standards The right to adequate living standards is guaranteed under the ICESCR64 and UDHR,65 and in non- binding international instruments such as the 1998 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (GPID).66 The ICESCR refers specifically to adequate food, clothing and housing and the continuous improvement of living conditions; the UDHR includes additional items such as medical care, social services, and to the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood circumstances beyond a persons control. The GPID state that IDPs have the right to adequate living standards and that, as a minimum, competent authorities should provide essential food, potable water and basic shelter and housing.67

What constitutes adequate living standards in the aftermath of a natural disaster? What is the procedure if state authorities cannot meet such standards? Although the expression adequate living standards is not defined in the ICESCR or the UDHR, the concept of adequate housing has been discussed in detail by the UNHCHR Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (see Chapter 4). Humanitarian actors can also refer to the following IASC principle, which pro- vides practical insight into ways of translating the concept of adequate into practice: IASC B.2.1: During and after the emergency phase of the disaster, adequate food, water and sanitation, shel- ter, clothing and essential health services should be provided to persons affected by natural disasters who are in need of these goods and services. Provision of goods and services should be without any discrimination of any kind as to race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, age, disability or other status. Adequacy of these goods and services means that they are (i) available (ii) accessible (iii) acceptable and (iv) adaptable: (i) Availability requires that these goods and services are made available to the affected population in suffi- cient quality and quantity. (ii) Accessibility requires that these goods and services (a) are granted without discrimination to all in need (b) are within safe reach and can be physically accessed by everyone, including vulnerable and marginal- ized groups, and (c) are known to the beneficiaries. . (iii) Acceptability refers to the need to provide goods and services that are appropriate and sensitive to gen- der and age. . (iv) Adaptability requires that these goods and services be provided in ways flexible enough to adapt to the change of needs in different phases of emergency relief, reconstruction and, in the case of displaced per- sons, return. During the immediate emergency phase food, water, sanitation, shelter, clothing and health services are considered adequate if they ensure survival to all in need of them.

What steps can be taken to restore the employment rights of populations affected by a natural disaster?

Projects to restore economic activities, opportunities and livelihoods that are disrupted by the natural disaster should start as soon and as completely as possible. To the maximum extent possible, such measures should already be taken during the emergency phase. IASC C.4.1 Access to livelihoods and employment opportunities should be ensured when planning temporary camps and relocation sites, as well as permanent re-housing for individuals displaced by the natural disaster. IASC C.4.3 Where individuals are unable to return to precious sources of livelihood due to the natural disaster, appropriate measures including provision of re-training opportunities or micro-credits should be taken. Opportunities created by such measures should be available without discrimination of any kind as to race, color, sex, lan- guage, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, age, disability or other status. IASC C.4.2 IASC Guidelines: Emergency Humanitarian Assistance Measures should be taken to ensure that persons affected by natural disasters, in particular those displaced, have unimpeded and non-discriminatory access to goods and services to address their basic needs. IASC B.1.1 If food, water and sanitation, shelter, clothing and health services are not available in sufficient quantities, they should be provided first to those most in need. The definition of need should be based and assessed on non- discriminatory and objective criteria. IASC B.2.2 If the host population, which has not been directly affected by the natural disaster, suffers from similar shortages of water and sanitation, shelter, clothing and essential health services as those affected by the natural disaster, relief should also be provided to it on an equitable basis.

First, humanitarian agencies are not directly responsible for ensuring a populations right to adequate housing; such responsibility rests with the state. Second, it is clear that the standards articulated in the United Nations and IASC definitions of adequacy may not be capable of being realized in developing country contexts, par- ticularly in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Requirements such as security of tenure, affordability and access to services such as child care and employment opportunities are issues of public policy and may not be in the control of an NGO or United Nations agency. The standards do, however, provide important guidance for those designing and implementing housing programs aimed at providing equitable and sustainable solutions. Can government authorities or humanitarian actors compel the evacuation or prohibit the return of persons

who are in danger from an impending natural disaster? According to the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, evacuees should not be housed in emergency shelter for more than three weeks In constructing temporary shelters, government authorities and international agencies should be guided by the standards for adequate housing, such as those outlined in IASC C.3.2 and enunciated by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Can government authorities or international agencies use abandoned property for humanitarian purposes such as shelter in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster?

The Right to HLP Restitution The Pinheiro Principles guarantee to people displaced by natural disasters a right to restitution or just compensation. Return to ones original home is regarded as the preferred solution because it restores rights bearers to their original position, prevents community fragmentation and preserves sources of livelihood. Where return is materially impossible or impractical, the alternate solution is compensation. This might take the form of monetary compensation or in-kind compensation such as resettlement or the repair or reconstruction of a home on existing property.

(i) Compatibility with International Human Rights Standards. Restitution policies should be compatible with international law and standards, a task that will be facilitated where the state in question is party to the relevant human rights treaties. States should ensure that all housing, land and property restitution procedures, institutions, mechanisms and legal frameworks are fully compatible with international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law and related standards, and that the right to voluntary return in safety and dignity is recognized therein. Pinheiro Principle 11.143 (ii) Equality and Non-Discrimination. Accountability for Housing Construction Since the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, international and national aid agencies have constructed more than 100,00062 new homes in Aceh. Indonesia. The Agency for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction for the Region and Community of Aceh and Nias set minimum standards for house construction, which related to house size, the use of non-toxic materials, inclusion of basic amenities such as water, electricity, shower facilities and a toilet, the quality of materials, and protection from further natural disasters.63 Despite such standards, one issue that has arisen relates to the rights of beneficiaries and the accountability of aid agencies in cases where houses have been poorly constructed or have not met minimum standards.64 Acehs experience demonstrates the importance of developing

construction standards and a framework for enforcing such standards, particularly in environments where a large number of humanitarian actors are operating. Standards should be drafted to take account of international norms, local conditions and cultural norms; accountability frameworks should include claims procedures for beneficiaries who have received unsatisfactory houses.

Sphere handbook Everyone has the right to water. This right is recognised in international legal instruments and provides for sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses. An adequate amount of safe water is necessary to prevent death from dehydration, to reduce the risk of water-related disease and to provide for consumption, cooking, and personal and domestic hygienic requirements. The right to water is inextricably related to other human rights, including the right to health, the right to housing and the right to adequate food. 38-39.pdf The Court based its findings on the recognition of a duty to protect life against the consequences of disasters by reaffirming that the right to life does not solely concern deaths resulting from the use of force by agents of the State but also [...] lays down a positive obligation on States to take appropriate steps to safeguard the lives of those within their jurisdiction and stressing that this positive obligation entails above all a primary duty on the State to put in place a legislative and administrative framework designed to provide effective deterrence against threats to the right to life. In implementing this obligation to protect, states have considerable flexibility with regard to the operational choices which they must make in terms of priorities and resources. However, the Court made it clear that a state becomes liable for deaths if they have occurred because the authorities neglected their duty to take preventive measures when a natural hazard had been clearly identifiable and effective means to mitigate the risk were available to them. In summary, the individual right to life and the corresponding state obligation to protect life require that, with regard to natural disasters, including those caused by climate change, the relevant authorities must: enact and implement laws dealing with all relevant aspects of disaster risk mitigation and set up the necessary mechanisms and procedures take the necessary administrative measures, including supervising potentially dangerous situations inform the population about possible dangers and risks

evacuate potentially affected populations conduct criminal investigations and prosecute those responsible for having neglected their duties in case of deaths caused by a disaster compensate surviving relatives of victims killed as a consequence of neglecting these duties. 0119_internal_displacement_Ch14.pdf While since that time a number of new national laws and plans have been developed that specifically refer to disaster risk reduction, a 2007 ISDR analysis found that many of the laws and plans still mainly focused on post- disaster response.43 It attributed this to the fact that the central coordinating agency in many countries remains with the organization responsible for disaster response. This is not to say that international norms require that all activities and authority be centralized at the national level. On the contrary, as expressed in the Hyogo Framework,72 it is widely accepted that responsibility for some disaster risk reduction tasks can, and should, be decentralized to the local level.73 Ensuring Adequate Funding One important step in this direction, as noted by the Hyogo Framework,100 would be to adopt measures to ensure that risk reduction activities are adequately funded. This can be promoted through budgeting processes that are specific and transparent as to how funds are allocated toward risk reduction objectives. For example, in Guatemala, the 1996 Law on the National Coordinator for the Reduction of Natural or Man-Made Disasters provides for the creation of a dedicated National Fund for Disaster Reduction for the use of the coordination system.101 In Pakistan, a 2006 disaster management ordinance called for the establishment of similar funds both at the national and regional levels.102 Similarly, in 2000, the Ethiopian government established a National Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Fund as well as an Emergency Food Security Reserve (a revolving grain stock).103

Most national disaster management laws already devote substantial (sometimes near exclusive) attention to defining institutional structures. Traditionally, these structures have centered on a single civil defense or civil protection agency and this continues to be the case in many countries.139 However, pursuant to the suggestion of the Hyogo Framework and the encouragement of ISDR, there is a trend in more recent legislation to establish interministerial councils as well as inter-departmental provincial and municipal councils to increase the coordination and participation of the many sectors that are implicated by risk reduction.

Disaster losses ils final.pdf Five possible roles of government with respect to individual victim com- pensation are examined: 1) Facilitating the Receipt of Private Compensation for the Consequences of a Disaster; 2) Assuring Insurance Availability for Disaster Victims When the Market Fails to Do So; 3) Providing Victim Compensation Either When Government Should Have Prevented the Disaster or When It Is the Sort of Disaster We Aspire to Have Government Prevent; 4) Provid- ing Victim Compensation as an Alternative to Tort Recovery; and 5) Providing Victim Assistance to Overwhelmed Communities For Reasons of Altruism and National Solidarity.

http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/drr/index_en.html

An essential starting point for reducing risks is a quantitative assessment which combines information about the hazards with exposures and vulnerabilities of the population or assets http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/drr/images/ThematicAreas-1.jpg ---- diagram

GENERAL COMMENT 6.pdf Right to life pertains mostly to war supreme duty to prevent wars, acts of genocide and other acts of mass violence causing arbitrary loss of life. The expression "inherent right to life" cannot properly be understood in a restrictive manner, and the protection of this right requires that States adopt positive measures. In this connection, the Committee considers that it would be desirable for States parties to take all possible measures to reduce infant mortality and to increase life expectancy, especially in adopting measures to eliminate malnutrition and epidemics. ---see, not just war

ICESCR Article 6 Article 11: adequate standard of living, food clothing housing

Article 12: health---epidemics o (c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases; o (d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness. ICESCR General Comment 15 (Twenty-ninth session, 2002): The Right to Water (arts. 11 and 12 of the Covenant), E/2003/22 (2002) 120 at paras. 1-3 and 11. For text of General Comment, see ADEQUATE OR DECENT STANDARD OF LIVING - FOOD, CLOTHING, SHELTER.

CRC

States Parties, in accordance with national conditions and within their means, shall take appropriate measures to assist parents and others responsible for the child to implement this right and shall in case of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing.

http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/natural-disasters/news/nigeriamust-close-climate-change-communication-gap--4.html Anuforom said that inadequate information on disaster risk reduction and the lack of a framework to ensure that climate data are passed between agencies such as NIMET and policymakers was partly responsible for the damage and deaths caused by these floods. "Part of the problem of the recent floods was due to a communication gap. There is no formal policy connecting service providers like us with the users of the information," he explained. In 2009, the World Meteorological Organization adopted the global framework for climate service, which aims to ensure effective use of climate information in global decision-making.

world-risk-report-2012-pdf.pdf + Realizing a human right to disaster pre- paredness: The basic rights of people in the event of a disaster are, inter alia, governed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (particularly Articles 3 and 25) and the International Cove-

nant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Social Pact). The principles of the 1992 Rio Declaration and the Millennium Declara- tion of 2000 in particular the polluter principle (with regard to responsibility for climate change), the principle of common but differen- tiated responsibilities as well as the solidarity principle are quite clear: People affected by disasters have a right to support, and disaster risk reduction is not merely a humanitarian challenge for governments but also a human rights obligation. Rio Declaration Principle 11 States shall enact effective environmental legislation. Environmental standards, management objectives and priorities should reflect the environmental and developmental context to which they apply. Principle 13 States shall develop national law regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage. Principle 15 In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing costeffective measures to prevent environmental degradation. Principle 17 Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall be undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject to a decision of a competent national authority. G9942012.pdf More than 840 million people throughout the world, most of them in developing countries, are chronically hungry; millions of people are suffering from famine as the result of natural disasters, the increasing incidence of civil strife and wars in some regions and the use of food as a political weapon.

right to adequate food implies: Availability refers to the possibilities either for feeding oneself directly from productive land or other natural resources, or for well functioning distribution, processing and market

systems that can move food from the site of production to where it is needed in accordance with demand. Physical accessibility implies that adequate food must be accessible to everyone, including physically vulnerable individuals, such as infants and young children, elderly people, the physically disabled, the terminally ill and persons with persistent medical problems, including the mentally ill. Victims of natural disasters, people living in disaster-prone areas and other specially disadvantaged groups may need special attention and sometimes priority consideration with respect to accessibility of food. The obligation to fulfil (facilitate) means the State must pro-actively engage in activities intended to strengthen peoples access to and utilization of resources and means to ensure their livelihood, including food security. Finally, whenever an individual or group is unable, for reasons beyond their control, to enjoy the right to adequate food by the means at their disposal, States have the obligation to fulfil (provide) that right directly. This obligation also applies for persons who are victims of natural or other disasters.

ru90hrsd.pdf While a number of States still refuse to recognize the human right to a clean environment, the international jurisprudence developed around numerous universally-recognized substantive rights, such as the right to life, health, food and housing, offers robust legal and conceptual bridges between the social, economic and environmen- tal dimensions of sustainable development, and could shift priorities in the political economy of resource allocation and distribution. United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972, the international community recognized the global nature of environmental problems and established the link between environmental conditions and the enjoyment of basic human rights of the individual, by affirming that environmental conditions are essential to his [or her] wellbeing and to the enjoyment of basic human rightseven the right to life itself. There is a strict duty upon States, as well as upon the international community as a whole, to take effective measures to prevent and safeguard against the occurrence of environmental hazards which threaten the lives of human beings. 2. Every State, as well as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), should establish and operate adequate monitoring and early- warning systems to detect hazards or threats before they actually occur. Adequate avenues of recourse should be provided to individuals and groups at national, regional or international levels, to seek protection against serious environmental hazards to life. The establishment of such avenues of recourse is essential for dealing with such risks before they actually materialize.

DRR and Sustainable Development.pdf Disaster risk reduction and its relationship to sustainable development are to a great extent determined by the existence or lack of government regulations for land use and urban planning, construction standards, civil protection and public safety. Check again for possible recommendations Ecosystem Approach.pdf the World Bank recommends that adaptation programmes integrate an ecosystem-based approach into vulnerability and disaster risk reduction strategies.6

Disasters can have adverse consequences on the environment and on ecosystems in particular, which could have immediate to long-term effects on the populations whose life, health, livelihoods and well-being depend on a given environment or ecosystem. On the other hand, environmental conditions themselves can be a major driver of disaster risk. Degraded ecosystems can aggravate the impact of natural hazards, for instance by altering physical processes that affect the magnitude, frequency and timing of these hazards. This has been evidenced in areas like Haiti, where very high rates of deforestation have led to increased susceptibility to floods and landslides during hurricanes and heavy rainfall events.26 In the US, the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was exacerbated due to canalisation and drainage of the Mississippi floodplains, decrease in delta sedimentation due to dams and levees, and degradation of barrier islands.27 Environmental degradation also contributes to risk by increasing socio-economic vulnerability to hazard impacts, as the capacity of damaged ecosystems to meet peoples needs for food and other products is reduced.28 Hazard mitigation functions of ecosystems http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20121118/news/news5.html "We all know the difficulties in attributing any single storm to climate change. But we also know this: extreme weather due to climate change is the new normal," declared United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in the wake of Hurricane Sandy's devastating impact on sections of the United States (US). http://www.npr.org/2011/03/14/134528536/foreign-policy-japans-shake-up-unearthslessons Check for discussion partjapan

Agenda 21

PRINCIPILE 1 Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature. Principle 11 States shall enact effective environmental legislation. Environmental standards, management objectives and priorities should reflect the environmental and developmental context to which they apply. Principle 13 States shall develop national law regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage. Principle 15 In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing costeffective measures to prevent environmental degradation. Principle 17 Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall be undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject to a decision of a competent national authority.

Furthermore, the recent analysis of WHO has clearly established the interdependence among the factors of health, environment and development and has revealed that most countries are lacking such integration as would lead to an effective pollution control mechanism. objective is to minimize hazards and maintain the environment to a degree that human health and safety is not impaired or endangered and yet encourage development to proceed By the year 2000, to incorporate appropriate environmental and health safeguards as part of national development programmes in all countries; (b) By the year 2000, to establish appropriate and adequate national infrastructure and programmes for preventing environmental injury, hazard surveillance

Each country should develop the knowledge and practical skills to foresee and identify environmental health hazards and the capacity to reduce the risks IMPROVING HUMAN SETTLEMENT MANAGEMENT All countries should consider as appropriate undertaking a comprehensive national inventory of their land resources in order to establish a land information system in which land resources will be classified according to their most appropriate use and environmentally fragile or disaster-prone areas will be identified for special protection measures. Establish, as appropriate, national legislation to guide the implementation of public policies for environmentally sound urban development and utilization, housing and for the improved management of urban expansion; The achievement of this objective would require that all developing countries incorporate in their national strategies programmes to build the necessary technical, financial and human resource capacity aimed at ensuring better integration of infrastructure and environmental planning by the year2000. All countries should assess the environmental suitability of infrastructure in human settlements, develop national goals for sustainable management of waste, and implement environmentally sound technology to ensure that the environment, human health and quality of life are protected All countries should, as appropriate, adopt the following principles for the provision of environmental infrastructure: (a) Adopt policies that minimize if not altogether avoid environmental damage, wheneverpossible; (b) Ensure that relevant decisions are preceded by environmental impact assessments and also take into account the costs of any ecological consequences

Rio+ We therefore acknowledge the need to further mainstream sustainable development at all levels, integrating economic, social and environmental aspects and recognizing their interlinkages, so as to achieve sustainable development in all its dimensions. We also reaffirm the need to achieve sustainable development by promoting sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, creating greater opportunities for all, reducing inequalities, raising basic standards of living, fostering equitable social development and inclusion, and promoting integrated and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems that supports, inter alia, economic, social and human development while facilitating ecosystem conservation, regeneration and restoration and resilience in the face of new and emerging challenges.